Here are the journal entries I have been making, in lieu of the rundown of today.....I will post that with pics later...goodnight....
Journal Entry 1—May 18, 2007
Today we began our adventure by going downtown to the Underground Railroad Freedom Center. Even though I am a native Southern Ohioan, I had never visited this recent addition to Cincinnati. Many times have I driven past it, and many times have I heard its importance debated. Some people have called it the ‘Guilt Center’—claiming that it is more a monument geared toward white guilt. Others have called it a beacon for hope. I think the answer lies in between.
The Freedom Center focuses on both slavery and the road to freedom. It discusses the Middle Passage all the way even up til the present. One of the centerpieces is the slave pen torn down from Kentucky and restored in the Freedom Center. Also there is an exhibit on the freedom seekers and the guides along the Railroad, discussing such luminaries as Frederic Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Levi Coffin, John Parker and Rev. John Rankin.
I was impressed with the technology of Center, with the audio interface worn about the neck with earphones which told the story (on demand) of the different exhibits. I think this is a feature more museums should use, especially with staffing issues and funding being a problem as it would be cheaper in the long run to have these devices with on demand recordings. Also, the interactive aspect of pushing buttons and hearing the slave songs as well as dramatized recordings of characters real and imagined from the Underground Railroad, was a great aspect. I think if paid attention to, it can be very sobering and enlightening in terms of the struggle.
Which brings me to another thing I noticed. There were a lot of school groups. Many of the children were paying close and often rapt attention to the docents and the exhibits, asking questions, looking around, etc. However, what was interesting was the attitude I noticed in the African American children. Many of them just breezed through, goofing off, making fun of the statues of slaves, making goofy comments. Many of these black children were part of school groups. I was perplexed at this. Was it a good thing in that they were not dwelling on the issue of slavery, as many in the reparations movement seem to do, or is it a bad thing in that they are mocking part of the culture that has brought them even unto the present day? I think it more the latter, and that is sad. They need to understand the struggle so they can see how things have progressed, and to understand that like the Underground Railroad was a combination of whites and blacks, so to is the way to our future progress in the area of civil rights. I was disheartened to see these children not understand their own history so much, but given the declining emphasis on history in our schools, this is hardly surprising.
The other thing that was really meaningful to me was the discussion of John Parker and John Rankin, workers for freedom from Ripley, Ohio. Many times I have traveled to and from Ripley, and often I have thought about the intrigue that probably happened along some of the routes I take to and from substituting duties in the Ripley school district. This union of black freedman and white reverend shows, in my idealistic opinion, how we can continue to move forward in terms of race relations. Realizing common cause and purpose, we can move forward. Watching the film on Rankin and Parker was very fascinating because it dealt with my own backyard, so to speak.
As much as I found things to appreciate and enjoy at the Freedom Center, I do see the criticism of it being a guilt center. While I do appreciate that in order to understand the victory you need to feel the struggle, I feel that at times it should be called the slavery museum. I felt there is more discussion of slavery than the march to freedom, at least that is what I saw today. Also, the quality of the docents varied, as I heard some who were not only passionate but accurate, and I heard some that just droned on and at times spoke inaccuracies even as they were looking at visual aids. I think more emphasis should be placed on blacks and whites who helped others to freedom. I think that that would get to the title of the FREEDOM center. At present, it has some interesting exhibits, and seems to be progressing, but I still feel there is not enough balance between the evils of slavery and the good of the Underground Railroad. Instead of just one room where we see their pictures above us and flick through some booklets, we need to see more of Douglass, Coffin, Rankin, Parker, Tubman, and Truth. Until then, while I don’t see it as a “guilt center,” I do think there are valid criticisms. It does make me want to take the tours listed in the Ripley Ohio brochure and learn even more about the amazing sites I took for granted in my home county.
May 19, 2007—Mt. Pleasant, Wheeling, WV, Frederick, MD
The town of Mt. Pleasant appears unassuming, in eastern Ohio, not far from West Virginia. However, a giant walked these streets. Benjamin Lundy, a Quaker, started publishing his abolitionist paper The Genius of Universal Emancipation in 1821, before even Parker and Rankin in Ripley. Especially interesting was that Lundy did this so close to Virginia (now WV), slave territory.
As much as museums are neat and interesting, I really enjoyed walking the streets of Mt. Pleasant, though my knee didn’t care for it. Feeling the presence of such historical figures, especially one who did as other Quakers and had a slave Free Store (all products made by waged workers, not slaves), was very moving. Getting a chance to see and actually walk in some of the spaces Lundy did was very special to me. As nice and convenient as museums are, it is fun to live history and walk where “the giants” walked. Walking through Mt. Pleasant one can almost close their eyes and be taken back to the antebellum times.
As mentioned by Dr. Rodriguez, the big contrast was seeing how meticulous the slave pen was preserved at the Underground Railroad vs. the disrepair of the Lundy House. Of course, as discussed, this comes down to dollars and cents and supply and demand. There is not an impetus to restore if no one is going to show up. Mt. Pleasant is an out of the way burg in the hills/mountains of Eastern Ohio. It is off the beaten path.
However, even things on the main drag can be run down. While the video at the West Virginia Independence Hall was kind of melodramatic and cheesy, it was interesting to note that even such a place as the birthplace of your state can fall into disrepair. It looked like it became a place for shops and general leasing until the restoration effort. However, Wheeling is a vibrant city, whereas Mt. Pleasant is an out of the way sleepy mountain town. It is sad to say, but unless some benefactor comes in, the Lundy House, where such a brave man gave William Lloyd Garrison his start, will likely collapse on itself.
As a person whose patrilineage comes from West Virginia, it was fascinating to learn about my grandfather’s home state’s origins. While the video was a bit on the cheesy and melodramatic side, it was correct in that many of these men were brave in seeking to break away from Virginia, knowing some of their fellow citizens would be against them and that the old Commonwealth would be upset. I was moved when we got the same chance to stand where West Virginia was born. In some ways, it was like discovering some of your ancestors and part of your own identity. Again, I have always liked not just watching history or seeing the exhibits, but walking in the same steps. That was special to me. Therefore, while Mt. Pleasant may not be as well known as Wheeling, both were special to me in that we saw, walked and experienced some of the history that we are studying. I look forward to visiting the battlefields, and possibly experiencing some of the same powerful evocations of feeling that I have gotten on each of my two trips to Gettysburg.
Also, as with the URFC, but in a different way, these sites today made me want to take advantage more of the great sites I have in my home state. I live close to General Grant’s boyhood home in Georgetown, where also he went to school. Paying closer attention to some of those plaques, which as an historian and teacher I should do anyway, will be a priority for me.
It was also great to get to know some of the students. It has been an enjoyable experience, and I see why Dr. Rodriguez says this is an opportunity to recharge. Not having some of the usual restraints of academia is a boon.
Watching minor league baseball was also great, as the team in Frederick MD takes its name from Francis Scott Key. Even though I had no interest in the team, being part of baseball and being loosely tied to history was a fun side event. Again, while I love and appreciate the museums because it allows you to see many places and things together, going to the sites puts you at the focal point of events and allows you to close your eyes and experience and see some of those things. Maybe that is why I lag behind a bit….
Also, driving around the country was great as well. There is really some great, beautiful land out there. Seeing the towns, the people, the real heart of America, is a great experience. It was also fun at the hotel this morning, where I met the curator of a barbershop museum in Ohio. He was very friendly and gave us further info about sites he had visited recently and who to talk to, etc. Having some of those conversations with fellow history buffs and just fellow Americans is interesting, both as an historian and as an observer of people. Hopefully there will be more opportunities for that.
